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KILLING FOR FUN AND PROFIT?
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Killing for Fun and Profit?
By: Eye Writewell (Box 201)
Dr. Ima Hardmarker, PS 0197 – College Preparation Seminar
Vanguard College
1 April 2025
Page setup: KILLING FOR FUN AND PROFIT?
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The Crusades. They are without a doubt one of the most controversial events in Christian
history. The very word Crusade is loaded with meaning, mostly negative. Until recently, in the
Christian West it was synonymous with massive evangelistic efforts by Protestant preachers, but
has fallen out of favour in recent years because of its negative connotations.
In more recent times, the Crusades have been described as (at worst) genocidal; the onesided mass killing where the perpetrators – in this case Crusaders – intended to wipe out the
victim group even though the latter had no such plans (Chalk & Johnassohn, 1990, p. 23). At
best, the popular image of the Crusades is a very cynical one, often highlighting the political
nature of the entire undertaking. As one popular author writes:
The Crusades had done some pretty vile things. But that was a classic case of someone
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giving a religious title for a war that was really about economics and simple ambition. A
nobleman just didn’t want to appear to be fighting for money – and with God on your side,
there was nothing you couldn’t do. Swing the sword, and whatever neck you severed was
okay. The Bishop said so. (Clancy, 2003, p. 180)
But is this really a fair assessment? Granted, atrocities were committed to be sure, and
eventually the Crusading movement would stray far from its original purposes,1 but that does not
mean that they were always intended to do so. After all, not all Crusades had the same
objectives as the first (Latourette, 1983, p. 317).
What follows is an attempt to discover what exactly those original purposes were. It is
1
This was especially true of the fourth Crusade when the crusading army sacked the city of Zara, a
Christian town ruled by a Crusader (Emeric of Hungary) at the request of the Venetian Doge (Jones &
Ereria, 1995, pp. 201-203)!
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KILLING FOR FUN AND PROFIT?
neither a justification for the entire Crusading movement nor an expose of it, but rather an
exploration of the thinking behind the first Crusade. After examining the facts, it will become
clear that many who embarked upon the first Crusade did so for primarily religious reasons, and
that the background behind the initial march to Palestine was rooted in the theological thinking
of the time. This is not to say that there were no political reasons for liberating the Holy Land,
but they cannot be separated from what was a primarily religious goal.
To arrive at this conclusion, some key areas will be examined. These include the state of
society in eleventh century Europe, including the relationship between Christianity and Islam
and reasons for the Crusade, the medieval concept of penance and redemption and the general
theological thinking of the time, and then concluding with some implications that the Crusades
had on further theological thought.
Society in the Eleventh Century
To begin with, it is impossible to have a proper understanding of the first Crusade
without looking at the social conditions that existed when it took place. Muslims and Christians
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had a long history of conflict prior to the first Crusade, so much so that the Crusade was seen by
some as the last of three campaigns to turn back the Muslim advance in to Christian territory
(Latourette, 1983, p. 311).2
However, poor relations between the two faiths reached a high water mark in the
advances of the Seljuq Turks. In 1070 they took possession of Jerusalem and began inflicting
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hardships on Christian pilgrims partly because they were afraid that the Christians would
prefer their former rulers – the Fatimid (Shi’ite) Dynasty of Egypt (Cox, 2008, p. 276;
2
The other two were the Iberian Peninsula and the retaking of Sicily. For some helpful background on the
Muslim perspective, see Riley-Smith (1987, p. 1).
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KILLING FOR FUN AND PROFIT?
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Crawford, 2012, p. 23). This history is important, as Berlirer (1966) writes:
It can thus be affirmed that in 1088, at the time of the accession of Urban II, the idea of
the holy war for all Christians against the Muslims was, so to speak, floating in the
air…If one misunderstands the value of this past, it is impossible to explain the origin of
the Crusades. (p. 29)
Besides the relationship between Muslims and Christians, it is also important to take into
consideration the social situation that existed in Europe at the time, particularly for the peasants,
most of whom made up the bulk of the Crusading army, but many would also rally behind Peter
the Hermit and embark on what became known as the People’s Crusade (which will be dealt with
later). Politically, Western Europe was in a state of upheaval, due in part to the Investiture
Struggle that was causing conflict between the Church and the nobility (Charanis, 1954, p. 98),3
but also because of constant fighting between the various nobles themselves, largely as a result
of the prevailing culture. After ceremonially entering into knighthood, the only duty
acknowledged by a knight was fighting - presumably in defending the populace from invaders but because invaders were in short supply, this usually meant fighting everyone within sword’s
reach (Howarth, 1991, p. 23). As for the poorer classes, for many, three forces ordered life: the
need for food, obligations to local landowners, and the need to save their souls (Howarth, 1991,
p. 22). It was because of this that many nobles and peasants alike were hopelessly mired in
poverty and servitude and longed for freedom. The call to go and fight in a foreign land was their
opportunity (Gonzalez, 1984, p. 293). Because of the general current of theological thought at
the time, further reasons for the Crusade would become evident and the peasantry would have
their chance at freedom.
Essential to any understanding behind Urban II sermon at the Council of Clermont in
3
For a helpful and succinct account of this, see Gonzalez (1984, pp. 286-291).
KILLING FOR FUN AND PROFIT?
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November of 10954 and the launching of the first Crusade is a basic knowledge of theological
and religious thought of the time.
The beginning of the eleventh century was a time of religious awakening across Europe
(Prawer, 1972, p. 17). To begin with, there was a strong reform movement that had its
beginnings at the French monastery of Cluny. Gregory VII, Urban’s predecessor, had a strong
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desire to unite the Eastern and Western Empires under the unifying sway of Rome, and as such
had planned to aid them against the advancing Seljuqs (Latourette, 1983, p. 317). This idea was
realised when Urban, himself exposed to the reform movement at Cluny as a monk and then
Prior there (Riley-Smith, 1987, p. 3) called for the first Crusade. “When Pope Urban II preached
the First Crusade at Clermont, he did not have in mind a purely military expedition” (Porges,
1966, p. 42). Indeed, the Crusades were not, as many are quick to assume, originally conceived
of as a good way to spread Christianity or for regaining the populations lost to Islam when the
Turks invaded (Latourette, 1983, p. 317).5
There were two main reasons for this. One of them was that the city Jerusalem held a
special place in the hearts of reformers like Urban, which will be addressed shortly. The other
was his strong desire to realise his predecessor’s dream of healing the relationship between the
Eastern and Western branches of the church that had been shattered in the schism of 1054
(Gonzalez, 1984, p. 293).
4
For an excellent summary of this speech see Munro (1966, pp. 7-11). For a full account see Charanis
(1954, pp. 102-114. Different eyewitnesses give many versions here, but an official full version of what
exactly Urban II said does not exist.
5
He goes on to say that Urban declared three objectives for the first Crusade – the rescue of the Holy
Places in Palestine, the defense of Christians in the East against the Muslims, and stopping the tide of
Muslim conquest.
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KILLING FOR FUN AND PROFIT?
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Theological Thought in the Eleventh Century
Besides the influence of the reform movement, for many in Europe before the
millennium, Christianity had been largely a religion based on guilt – in AD 1000 many expected
that Christ would come again at any moment to take vengeance on a sinful world (Howarth,
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1991, pp. 22-23). This failed to happen, but as Jones and Ereria (1995) explain, “Europe had
been swept by a growing sense of millenarianism. It was being said that a huge body of
Christian pilgrims assembling in Jerusalem would hasten the return of the Messiah” (28).
Besides this, the general populace considered society at the time sinful, and “many of the laity
were becoming profoundly anxious about a sinfulness from which they felt they could never
escape” (Riley-Smith, 1991, p. 24). It is also of vital importance to realise that at this time, the
modern Christian concept of personal devotion was impossible – even if people could afford the
books, most were illiterate – piety was a public, rather than a private practice (Riley-Smith,
1991, p. 24). Because of this, making pilgrimage to various holy sites became very important,
with those sites located in the Holy Land earning the pilgrim a greater pardon, most likely
because the journey was long and hard and thus counting as a greater act of penance. Indeed,
the whole idea of making a pilgrimage to Palestine was not a new one – Emperor Constantine
gave rise to it as a way of making one’s conversion to Christianity manifestly evident
(Bradford, 2008). Mass pilgrimages were common, and their importance cannot be overstated.
However, trouble began “when the Seljuq Turks seized Jerusalem form their fellow Muslims [the
Fatimids] and sometimes denied Christians access to Christianity’s most holy places. This
prevented medieval Christians from practicing a deeply meaningful act of devotion and an aid to
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KILLING FOR FUN AND PROFIT?
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salvation” (Shelley, 2009, pp. 18-19).6 This was significant because “extreme veneration for
Jerusalem and its sacred sites was fostered by the whole system of Latin Christianity, and
especially by its encouragement of pilgrimages” (Stevenson, 1968, p. 269). Jerusalem was
associated particularly with absolution from sins and was a place some went to die, because as
the focus of God’s interventions in this world it was considered to be closer to heaven than other
places (Riley-Smith, 1991, p. 25). It was perhaps for these reasons that reformers, when they
thought of the East, naturally thought of Jerusalem – “in this respect, the first Crusade hardly
required a [reason for war]: the inner momentum of the reform movement would probably have
led to it sooner or later” (Riley-Smith, 1987, p. 6).
So, it was a strong desire to free the various pilgrimage destinations in the Holy Land that
became a major force behind the First Crusade. After all, they were a major aid to personal
salvation, and the way to them was blocked. Urban realised this, and as part of his call to
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Crusade he did something none had ever done before. For the first time in history, not just
partial, but rather complete remission of sins was offered to all those who died in the Crusades
(Marshall, 2010, para. 19). For the masses of the poor especially, this indulgence was a powerful
motivating force. Now, not only did the poor have an escape from the misery of serfdom, but
they also had a way of salvation open to them. Joshua Prawer (1972) captures this sense of dual
motivation excellently in his statement: “No doubt many a peasant loading his family on his
wagon thought not only about the salvation of his soul or the liberation of the Saviour’s
sepulchre, but also of his own liberation from serfdom and bondage” (p. 17). After Urban’s
sermon, “the enthusiasm was so great that masses of peasants, aroused by the preaching of Peter
6
For an excellent and much more exhaustive treatment of pilgrimages, see Bradford (1974, pp. 9-16) and
Runciman (1992, pp. 13-22). Runciman’s work is seen as one of the definitive works on the Crusades.
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KILLING FOR FUN AND PROFIT?
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the Hermit and Walter the Penniless, started to march through Germany, Hungary, and the
Balkans in 1096 to Palestine” (Cairns, 2010). Peter’s call to leave immediately rather than wait
for the official start date that was still several months away7 was well received by those in the
lower classes (Howarth, 1991, p. 29). The emphasis on the importance of the pilgrimage here
and as alluded to earlier must not be taken lightly, as it was of supreme importance to the
individual, and it highly influenced their opinion of what the Crusades were all about.
Rather than an army, the masses of peasants who followed Peter were more like a mob,
and they committed many atrocities on the way to Constantinople and Palestine, because for
them, “the crusade against the Turk was interpreted not less explicitly against the descendants of
those who had crucified the redeemer” (Cox, 2008, p. 279). It was known as the People’s
Crusade, and it was an utter failure. Many of them were massacred before they even entered the
Holy Land, and those who survived were mostly sold as slaves. However, even though the
People’s Crusade was a total disaster, it does provide some insight as to why people went
Crusading, and is a good indicator of the theological thought of the people at that time. This
sense of spiritual fervour was no less real for members of the nobility, for they too signed up in
droves to embark on the Crusade, in part because “the call to Crusade…suddenly became a call
for a collective act of penance, a penance for the needs and woes of a generation” (Prawer,
1972, p. 18).
And yet in spite of this spiritual fervour and desire for salvation, the question must be
raised as to why people thought that force was necessary to achieve these things. Was it
acceptable for the church to take up arms in defence of her cause in spite of Christ’s instruction
to “turn them the other cheek also” (Matt. 5:39, NIV)? The answer to this question also has its
7
Urban gave the call in November 1095, but the official start date was not until August of 1096.
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KILLING FOR FUN AND PROFIT?
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roots in the theological thinking of the day. One of the principal ideals that drove the Crusade
was the defence of Christians, and “Christians at the time believed that violence, if used rightly,
was a proper means of defending [other] Christians” (Shelley, 2009, p. 17). The theological
reasoning for this came in large part from Augustine’s theory of the Just War, 8 which had three
basic criterion: it was made by the state, its purpose was to vindicate justice, and it respected
non-combatants. “For Augustine, a just war’s purpose was to achieve peace” (Shelley, 2009, p.
17). In the Christian mind at the time, these criteria were met, and the Crusade was very much a
Holy War.9 Although the church called for Crusade, the actual fighting was done by European
heads of state and their armies, with the just purpose of liberating the sacred pilgrimage sites so
that the faithful could once more have free access to them. At Clermont Urban also renewed the
Truce of God, which was an attempt to limit military bloodshed, as under it knights were
forbidden to feud from Wednesday evening to Monday morning as well as on Holy days
(Marshall, 2010, para. 2).10 The Pope also tried to limit participation in the Crusade. Monks were
forbidden to go and he wanted to limit the number of priests to as few as possible (Riley-Smith,
1987, pp. 7-8).
Another reason people fought in the Crusade was that this Holy War was also looked on
as a war of prevention, as there was a justified fear of invasion (T. Fuller, Personal
Communication, 19 October 2011). The Turks were advancing rapidly, and the Byzantine
Empire was not as strong as it once was. It must have seemed to them that Muslim armies would
8
Obviously, this is a subject that is far more complex and detailed than can be dealt with here, and for
this reason only the briefest of summaries is given.
9
Compare with Cox (2008, p. 297), where he tells of a procession of clergy singing hymns preceded by
laity as they circled the walls of Jerusalem while the Saracens threw dirt on their Crucifixes.
10
As history demonstrates, this provision did not last long on the battlefield.
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KILLING FOR FUN AND PROFIT?
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not stop at the Holy Land, but would keep on marching into Western Europe as well.
The Further Effects of the Crusades
So what did all of this accomplish? To be sure there were many who fought for spiritual
reasons. That can be seen by even a hasty examination of everyday life and the theological
thinking that was common in Europe at the time. But what were the results of this massive
undertaking to liberate the shrines and sacred sites so vital to the faith of Latin Christians? The
Holy Land was liberated and the pilgrims were safe again, but the standard had been established
in popular Christian thinking: it was now acceptable to fight large-scale wars in the name of
God. Many more Crusades would be called to defend against Muslim counterattacks and
attempts to regain lost territories. Although they were called Crusades, their underlying
motivation was quite different from that of the first in that they were primarily (or even solely)
political, rather than spiritual, and ultimately led to the weakening of the Papacy (Chalk &
Johnassohn, 1990, p. 116).
Another result of the First Crusade was that a major shift in theological thinking
occurred. For the first time in Christian history, orders of warrior monks were established. The
Knights Templar to defend pilgrims visiting Jerusalem from attacks by Saracens or bandits, and
the Hospitallers who provided shelter and medical care to those thousands who arrived sick and
exhausted (Chalk & Jonassohn, 1990, p. 134). It was now acceptable to be in full time service to
God while at the same time being a professional soldier, and war became a religious calling as
many of them, like the Teutonic Knights, also emerged in the twelfth century as storm troopers
for further Crusades (Seward, 2000, p. 3).
Ultimately, as a result of the Crusading movement that began, for better or worse, with
Urban’s sermon at Clermont, Christian thinking on the nature of missions changed. In the West
KILLING FOR FUN AND PROFIT?
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there arose a conviction that a better way than the Crusades should be found for dealing with
Muslims, and the traditional view that Christendom was locked in a state of perpetual war with
the armies of Islam would change (Latourette, 1983, p. 319). A desire for peaceful conversion
arose, and theologians like Thomas Aquinas and Roger Bacon would assert that Muslims should
be converted and not attacked (Latourette, 1983, p. 319).
It is unfair and unbalanced to look at all Crusades in the same negative light. To be sure,
some fought in the First Crusade for reasons that were more political than spiritual, as later
Crusades would make clear. However, that describes only a small portion of those who fought.
The majority of those who fought in 1096 had theological reasons for doing so. The social
situation in Europe at the time, the concepts of penance and redemption as well as the important
role that pilgrimage played in one’s personal salvation, demonstrate that most of the people who
participated had a strong religious motivation for doing so. As Riley-Smith (1987) points out:
“The majority of commentators then and a minority of historians now have maintained that the
chief motivation was a genuine idealism” (p. 11). While it is true that atrocities were committed
and many negative things took place, Shelley (2009) reminds people that “…if we fail to see the
Crusaders’ spiritual ideals, we misperceive the spirit of the times” (p. 17). Ignoring historical
facts about the less-than-sacred motives that some Crusaders had is unwise, as is the idea that
these were the only motives that drove the masses to war.
KILLING FOR FUN AND PROFIT?
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References
Bradford, E. [bradernle]. (2009, September 8). The sword and the scimitar. [video file].
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ngHYbmE570.
No retrieval
date needed.
Berlirer, L. (1966). The recovery of the Holy Land. In J. A. Brundage, (Ed.), The
Crusades: Motives and achievements. Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Company.
CairnsE. (2010, April 1). Re: Christianity through the centuries [web log comment].
Retrieved from http://www.chistoryblogsrus.af/chris_through_the_centuries.php.
Chalk, F. & Jonassohn, K. (1990). The history and sociology of genocide: Analyses and
case studies. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Charanis, P. (1954). Byzantium and the West. In K. Selton and H. Winkler (Eds.), Great
problems in European civilization. New York, NY: Prentice Hall.
Clancy, T. (2003). The teeth of the tiger. [Kindle edition].
Cox, G. W. (2008). The first Crusade. In R. Johnson (Ed.), The great events by
famous historians. Charleston, SC: BiblioLife Publishing.
Gonzalez, J. A. (1984). The story of Christianity, vol. I. New York, NY: Harper Collins.
Howarth, S. (1991). The knights templar. New York, NY: Dorset Press.
Jones, T. & Ereria, A. (1995). Crusades. New York, NY: Facts on File.
Latourette, K. S. (1983). A history of the expansion of Christianity, vol. II: The thousand
years of uncertainty. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Marshall, C. T. (2010, September). Did you know? Little known or remarkable
facts about the Crusades. Crusader Weekly, 40(7). Retrieved from
http://www.crusaderweekly.cb/mag.html.
Reference
list entries
are
double
spaced
with a
hanging
indent.
KILLING FOR FUN AND PROFIT?
Munro, D. C. (1966). Papal Proclamation of the Crusade. In J. A. Brundage (Ed.), The
Crusades: Motives and achievements. Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Company.
Prawer, J. (1972). The world of the Crusaders. New York, NY: Quadrangle Books.
Porges, W. (1966). The clergy, the poor and the non-combatants on the first Crusade. In J. A.
Brundage (Ed.), The Crusades: Motives and achievements. Boston, MA: D.C. Heath &
Company.
Riley-Smith, J. (1987). The Crusades: A short history. New York, NY: Yale University Press.
Riley-Smith, J. (Ed.). (1991). The atlas of the Crusades. London, UK: Times Books.
Runciman, S. (1992). The first Crusade. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press
Seward, D. (2000). The monks of war. London, UK: The Folio Society.
Shelley, B. L. (2009, January). How could Christians do this? Christian History,
40(4), 17-45.
Stevenson, W. B. (1968). The first Crusade. In J. R. Tanner, C. W. Preville-Orton, & Z. N.
Brooke (Eds.), The Cambridge medieval history, vol. V. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press.
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